South African artist Darryn Eggleton talks about what has informed and inspired his wildlife paintings and how working in London has laid the foundation for a noteworthy career

As a self-taught artist with little formal training it was Darryn Eggleton’s passion for wildlife and early fascination with art that fashioned the right background for the development and fine tuning of his talent.

Eggleton recalls that his artistic inclination started from an early age when “we used to go on little family trips, to the Kalahari for instance, and I would take my sketch book and draw the animals I would see every day instead of taking photos.”

Landscapes and people held little interest for Eggleton, whose preferred subject has always been wildlife.

“I’m not really interested in the landscape,” he says. “For me, it’s more about the actual animal. I view the animal as a landscape. The shape of the zebra’s stripes, for instance, and the way that they create the actual shape of the animal and the finer details of each animal – that’s what inspires my paintings.”

His interest in wildlife paintings and sketches landed him a job as a resident artist at the Leopard Creek Golf Course in Mpumalanga, where Eggleton lived for a few years. There he was able to lay the foundation for his career as an artist and, he laughs, become “a tourist attraction.”

Eggleton’s move to London eight years ago allowed him to build upon that start when he became a full-time artist, taking up a studio at the 400-studio space of Wimbledon Arts Studio. There, with the chance to pour all his energy into his work and draw on the creative energy of the artists around him, Eggleton has found his artistic niche.

“Just from being there I’ve met some really good artists and they’ve always helped me along and given me tips and advice, and it’s just from being there really that I’m beginning to find my own style.

“There are about 400 studios there; they have two group shows a year and within those shows they get a footfall of about 5000 – 6000 people a time. Just getting comments from those thousands of people really does inspire you to get better. It’s been a real stepping stone for me as an artist.”

Eggleton makes sure to apply the routine of a normal 9 – 5 day to his career, but having his passion as his job hasn’t dulled his creative edge.

“Some days you really don’t feel like painting,” he says, “but it only takes about an hour or so of sitting in front of the canvas and looking at it and you get sucked into it. If I don’t paint I really feel like there’s something not right; it completes my day really. So I don’t see it as a hassle, even on the days I don’t feel like painting.”

It has been difficult being so far away from the African wild but Eggleton visits South Africa often where he takes photographs and creates sketches which inform his art.

“I do go back to South Africa a few times a year to go to the bush; I have to, it’s part of what I do,” he says. “People often ask ‘where is your reference?’ and I always say to them ‘it’s just around the corner – I’ve got a zebra standing there’,” he laughs.

Making his mark Eggleton’s artistic journey has culminated in the signature elements of his wildlife paintings – wonderfully-crafted pieces which make use of monochromatic palettes and close-ups of the featured animals. His style developed, he says, from feedback from those who view his pieces and his own preferences.

“I like to use colour and I like the minimalist style of art – to me less is more – and I enjoy experimenting with the space around the animal and placing it on the canvas in such a way that it does have a very contemporary feel to it,” he says.

Eggleton adds that his target market also influenced his style, so that his preference for a more contemporary feel to his art was largely because “I didn’t want to have a standard wildlife painting with an animal and a big, elaborate landscape. I want my art to be more contemporary – it’s got to appeal to a wider and younger audience.”

It’s a formula that has worked well for him, earning him a spot on the shortlist for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition. “That was probably the biggest show I’ve done to date. David Shepherd in his own right is a legend in British art and wildlife art, so just to be able to exhibit alongside of him was quite an achievement.”

In addition, Eggleton has attracted a sizeable British client base and been provided with numerous chances to exhibit his art. He is currently exhibiting at Southfields Gallery as part of its Wildlife Paintings and Masai Art Exhibition and has a permanent showcase in Wimbledon Village at Cannizaro House, an upscale hotel.

Although London has undeniably opened doors for him, Eggleton says “I never intended to stay as long as I have but we are looking to go back to South Africa in the next year or so.”

There, he says, he will have to start from scratch, building a name for himself. But, says Eggleton, “it’s going to continue. There are lots of exhibitions in the pipeline and things are really going in the right direction”

Darryn Eggleton will be exhibiting at the Southfields Gallery from 21 June – 23 July. Visit www.southfieldsgallery.com for more information or click here for full event information.

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